Conventionally, there is a medicine dispensing device for dispensing blister packages having a configuration in which a blister package is conveyed with the help of a grip unit and cut by a cutter mechanism to enable retrieval of the required quantity of the package sheet (see Patent document 1, for example).
As another medicine dispensing device for dispensing blister packages, there is one having a configuration that enables retrieval of a blister package loaded inside a medicine cassette by sucking it with a suction member (see Patent document 2, for example).
Further, as another medicine dispensing device for dispensing blister packages, there is one having a configuration wherein a grapple member having a hook-shaped action site is forwarded by an endless belt to hook the end tip of a PTP packaging positioned at the very last of the accumulated PTP packaged medicines and to dispense a blister package (see Patent Document 3, for example).
However, in the medicine dispensing device disclosed in Patent document 1, a grip unit is used for retrieving not only a fraction of the blister package but also one full blister package, and therefore, there is a problem of poor retrieving efficiency. Further, since the blister packages are stacked vertically, the space occupied in the height direction increases, and there is a problem of that the quantity and type that can be accommodated is limited.
In the medicine dispensing device disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is not possible to dispense fraction of a blister package.
Further, a blister package may become curved since it is delivered in a form wherein several numbers are bundled together by a rubber band, etc., however, any of the medicine dispensing devices disclosed in any of the above-mentioned patent documents does not have a configuration for suitably dispensing a curved blister package.
Further, in the medicine dispensing device disclosed in Patent Document 3, blister packages are housed such that they are stacked vertically. Therefore, similarly to Patent document 1, the space occupied in the height direction increases, leading to a problem of limitation on the quantity and type that can be accommodated. Further, since a structure of dispensing a blister package in the longitudinal direction is used, there is also a problem that dispensing takes time.